KBO-leading Twins lose starter Hernandez due to leg injury
LG Twins' pitcher Elieser Hernandez celebrates the club's victory against kt wiz during a semi-playoff match at Suwon KT wiz Park in Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 8, 2024.
In their first major injury blow since the start of the season, the LG Twins will be without starting pitcher Elieser Hernandez for several weeks due to a lower body injury.
The Twins, in first place in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), announced Wednesday that Hernandez was diagnosed with a right adductor injury earlier in the day, a condition that will require about six weeks in recovery alone.
Hernandez threw six shutout innings as part of the Twins' combined no-hitter against the Samsung Lions on Tuesday, the fourth combined no-no in KBO history.
Hernandez was pulled after only 79 pitches because of right leg pains. Though the pitcher said after the game he felt fine, tests done the following day told a different story.
In 2024, the KBO began allowing teams to sign temporary replacements for foreign players who suffer injuries that keep them sidelined for at least six weeks. A Twins official said Wednesday the club does not yet have any plan to pursue that option.
Hernandez joined the Twins in the middle of last season and excelled in the postseason by tossing 11 scoreless innings across two series. So far this year, he is 2-2 with a 5.68 ERA, with two scoreless starts sandwiching a pair of subpar outings in which he was roughed up for 12 runs combined in six innings.
The Twins entered Wednesday's action against the Lions with the best record in the KBO at 15-3-0 (wins-losses-ties). (Yonhap)